Quick Update

Partners in Conserving America's Resources

Quick Update

Here's where you can quickly update yourself on current activities related to this project.

Project Status

July 2000:

Several Legislative Proposals are under consideration as a means of launching the Resource Conservation Agreement. One of these proposals would incorporate the Resource Conservation Agreement into the other conservation programs being extended and established through the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (HR701 and S25, S2123, S2181 and S2567). The Senate offers the best chance for consideration of these amendments. To view the amendments being proposed, please click on: Amendments to CARA.

The Resource Conservation Agreement is attracting support from senior-level government officials in Washington, DC and national environmental organizations. Other states also are showing interest in launching pilot projects. For a report on these developments, click on: progress report.

Strong Interest Shown from Property Owners. A pilot project, to demonstrate the value of the Resource Conservation Agreement throughout the U.S., is being planned in Florida. In a two-week period, 20 property owners, with 170,000 acres of land, expressed interest in participating in the project. A description of these properties, and the reasons the landowners would like to participate in the Resource Conservation Agreement program, can be seen by clicking on: pilot projects. As word of the pilot project has spread, additional landowners have asked if they could participate. Total acreage represented by interested landowners now exceeds 300,000 acres.

First Draft of Documentation Now Available. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), has completed its work on Hall's Tiger Bay Ranch, which is being used as a model for the Resource Conservation Agreement. A GIS map showing the habitat types and land uses on the property has been prepared, along with brief descriptions of representative species that are supported by each habitat, and recommended management practices to ensure the integrity of the habitats and compatibility with ecological functions and ag operations on the property.

This 5500-acre ranch will be the first property to develop a long-term management plan, both for native wildlife habitat and water resources, following the concepts developed through this project. The long-term agreement will cover 4,500 acres of native habitat and 1,000 acres of improved pasture.

The documentation can be seen by clicking on: Hall Ranch Documentation (http://fl-panther.com/Hall_Ranch.htm). The documentation also includes five appendices:
    A Habitat Map (http://fl-panther.com/Hall_habitat_frm.htm)
    A Soils Map (http://fl-panther.com/Hall_soils_frm.htm)
    A Forage Resource Inventory (http://fl-panther.com/Hall_forage.htm)
    An Annual Grazing Schedule (http://fl-panther.com/Hall_grazing.htm) and
    Recommended Conservation Practices (http://fl-panther.com/Hall_conserve.htm)

Model Project Benefits. The documentation developed by the NRCS for the "Resource Conservation Agreement" is identical to the documentation that is used by NRCS for all of the USDA's "Farm Bill" programs -- including the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).

As NRCS was developing documentation for the model project, it discovered three beneficial features about the proposed Resource Conservation Agreement:

1. Unlike the other Farm Bill programs administered by the USDA, which focus entirely on restoring resources that have been damaged or put at risk, the Resource Conservation Agreement focuses on retaining valuable habitats and other environmental resources that are in a completely natural or pristine condition and prescribing management practices to maintain their integrity and viability. No other USDA program does this.

2. Because many of the Farm Bill programs were created for Midwest situations, they contain criteria that often prevent them from being used effectively in Florida and other states. The Resource Conservation Agreement offers a way in which a site-specific management plan can be developed for a property that recognizes the unique nature of its environmental resources and the interactions that occur between these resources and agricultural operations. Hence, it avoids many of the problems that limit the applicability of the Farm Bill programs to Florida. It also offers a way in which those parts of these programs that can be applied to a property can be incorporated into the agreement. Consequently, the Resource Conservation Agreement both builds on and expands the utility of the existing Farm Bill programs.

3. In addition to the documentation that is used when a property is enrolled in one of the Farm Bill programs, the Resource Conservation Agreement requires a "farm operation document" that describes existing and proposed agricultural uses of the property. When this document is combined with the other materials contained in the Resource Conservation Agreement, it provides a vehicle that could greatly reduce paperwork and operating costs for ag producers by consolidating all regulations, permits, recommended management practices and conservation programs into a single, site-specific document that has a duration of 10 or 20 years. As a result, the Resource Conservation Agreement could potentially act as an "umbrella" to incorporate all regulations and programs -- from all levels of government -- into a single, easy-to-understand document.

For a list of other benefits of the Resource Conservation Agreement, click on benefits (http://fl-panther.com/RCA_benefits.htm).

A complete description of the Resource Conservation Agreement concept has been posted to this web site, including a working draft of the proposed agreement and an outline of all the exhibits and attachments that will be a part of the agreement. These materials are the result of a five-year process to build consensus between private landowners, conservation and environmental interests and representatives of government agencies. These materials can be accessed from a single page, by clicking on: The Resource Conservation Agreement Concept (http://fl-panther.com/RCA_open.htm). The outline of exhibits and attachments is the next to last item listed on the page. You can view it by clicking on: Documentation Outline (http://fl-panther.com/RCA_document.htm). Your input and suggestions are welcome.

Good News! The Florida Forever Act, which is the successor to P-2000, Florida's highly successful land acquisition program, includes language that can lead to implementation of the "Resource Conservation Agreement." The Act includes two key provisions -- one that allows management funds to be spent on private lands, using "management service contracts, leases, cost-share arrangements or resource conservation agreements;" and one that earmarks $5 million for installing agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) which, again, can be carried out through Resource Conservation Agreements. Committee language also directs the Florida Forever Commission "to analyze existing stewardship programs and recommend new private land management incentives and funding sources to assist private landowners in keeping their land in private ownership and implementing sound environmental stewardship practices, including, but not limited to, potential forms of local, state, and federal tax relief including inheritance taxes; long-term management and use agreements; technical assistance; mitigation agreements; whole-farm planning; and multi-agency cooperative stewardship initiatives, including federal, state and local programs."

Enormous credit is due to the Florida Cattlemen's Association and, in particular, the Florida Farm Bureau Federation, for their advocacy efforts to include these provisions in the Florida Forever Act.

A last minute amendment by The Nature Conservancy limited the use of management funds on private lands to "lands listed as projects for acquisition." This means that many private lands with Priority 1 panther habitat would not qualify. But that can be rectified in the next session of the Legislature.

Other efforts also are underway to begin implementing the Resource Conservation Agreement concept. The concept is being reviewed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Interior and Council on Environmental Quality in Washington, DC. Several national groups also are looking at legislation that might be introduced in the year 2000 to implement the concept.

A public education program has been developed, with a 13-minute video, press releases, fact sheets and other information describing this project -- and its potential for use throughout Florida and the U.S. to provide incentives to private landowners to care for and maintain important natural resources on their properties. These materials were distributed to state policy makers, conservation and environmental leaders, heads of affected government agencies, and leaders of state and national farm groups in the spring of 1999. You can view the majority of these materials by clicking on The Resource Conservation Agreement Concept (http://fl-panther.com/RCA_open.htm). More information on these public information materials -- and this project -- can be obtained by writing Florida Stewardship Foundation, One Park Place, Suite 240, 621 N.W. 53rd Street, Boca Raton, Florida 33487. Or click send e-mail, if you wish to offer comments, request information or order a copy of the video "Private Lands: Partners in Conserving America's Resources" ($15 including shipping).

Project Highlights

For further background on the Resource Conservation Agreement, here are some key events that helped shape the concept:

Refinements were made to the proposed Resource Conservation Agreement at a landowners' meeting held in January 1999 at the Hendry County Extension Service in LaBelle, Florida. Information on these amendments can be obtained by clicking on the page giving information on all of the key workshops and meetings over the past two years: Private Lands Workshops, (http://fl-panther.com/workshop.htm) then clicking on the description of the January 20, 1999 Landowners' Meeting (http://fl-panther.com/199meet.htm).

An October 1998 workshop was successful for two key reasons: 1) consensus was finally reached on all the outstanding issues regarding the form and content of the proposed Resource Conservation Agreement -- the vehicle that was developed over a two-year period through a consensus-building process to implement the Landowners' "Conceptual Plan," and 2) recommendations were made on steps that can be taken to make it easier for private landowners to take advantage of existing conservation programs. Further details can be obtained by clicking on: workshop results.

A two-day workshop was held in May 1998 at the Best Western Waterfront Hotel, Punta Gorda, Florida. Sixty people attended: 21 private landowners or landowner representatives (who, together, control almost 225,000 acres of agricultural land), 15 representatives of government agencies, 11 representatives of conservation interests, 8 representatives of other interests (Florida House of Representatives, University of Florida, Seminole Indians), 3 facilitators and 2 FSF staff members. Keynote speaker was Rep. Ralph Livingston (Ft. Myers). 45 issues were discussed. Consensus was reached on 41 and discussion was continued on 4. For information on issues discussed at the workshop, please click on: workshop results.

A resolution supporting the premises, concepts and objectives of the projects, sponsored by Rep. Ralph Livingston (District 75, Ft. Myers), was adopted April 20, 1998 by the Florida House of Representatives. The text of the resolution can be seen by clicking on: House Resolution 9477.

A one-page description of the project's concept was prepared by the Public Education/Public Policy Committee in 1998 to help stimulate discussion and input to the project from other groups across the U.S. Copies of the Concept Paper and Resolution 9477 were mailed to all major conservation and environmental organizations in the U.S. (almost 2,000 groups). An e-mail version of this information also was sent to all state farm bureaus and ag organizations. Responses were received from over 300 groups, from almost every state and territory, asking to be kept informed about the project.

By October 1999, the project's national mailing list had grown to more than 750 individuals in all 50 states and U.S. territories.

A comprehensive economic analysis was conducted during 1997. The analysis clearly shows that the Landowners' Conceptual Plan has the potential to be a very cost-effective approach for conserving habitats for threatened and endangered species, such as the Florida panther. Because its duration is less-than perpetual, its overall costs also are less, when compared to the costs of conservation easements and public land purchases. Results from the study can be viewed by clicking on: Executive Summary & Findings or on Methodology & Calculations. The Full Report, which can be ordered from the publications page in this web site, includes the Endnotes, where all sources of information for the study are cited, and the Spreadsheets where the calculations used in the study are shown in detail.

As now proposed, the Resource Conservation Agreement will cost only 1% as much as a land acquisition program. That's because there is no cost for acquisition, no loss of property tax revenues, and no loss of economic production or jobs. The only cost incurred is for the payment of management services that are rendered to maintain the property and the integrity of the habitats and natural resources on the property. Public lands, of course, also must be maintained at an ongoing annual cost to the public. Hence, there is very little cost incurred for the Resource Conservation Agreement program in comparison to land acquisition programs.

And an argument can be made that some habitats and natural resources are likely to receive better management under a Resource Conservation Agreement.

This is because properties acquired through public land acquisition programs sometimes are not as well maintained as they could be. (Consider, for example, the situation the National Park Service is currently facing with its backlog of overdue maintenance on roads, sanitary facilities and backcountry facilities.) Problem is, maintenance budgets often are inadequate, since they receive a low priority by many public agencies and risk being underfunded or reduced in favor of more high-profile programs and activities every time an agency sets its budget for the new fiscal year.

The 1997 economic study showed that public agencies spend an average of $11 per acre per year to manage public lands in southwest Florida (not including any administrative costs and capital costs for building and road maintenance). The proposed per-acre compensation to landowners is slightly higher than this in the Resource Conservation Agreement. Also, landowners who participate in the program will eventually receive federal tax incentives.

In the end, however, the higher compensation paid to landowners will be more than offset by the revenues that are generated to local economies by property taxes and the economic production that is maintained on the properties enrolled in the program.

For information on the February 1997 Landowners Meeting that laid the groundwork for all Phase 2 activities to refine the concept and come up with techniques to make it work on the ground, please click on February 1997 Landowners Meeting. This is must reading to understand landowner sentiments toward the Conceptual Plan -- and more traditional approaches to preserving endangered species on their properties.

For further information, please visit one of the links below: